Marsico Nuovo is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

of the province of Potenza

Province of Potenza

The Province of Potenza is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza.-Geography:It has an area of 6,545 km² and a total population of 387,107 . There are 100 comuni in the province .-History:In 272 B.C. the province was conquered by the Greek army...

 in the Basilicata

Basilicata

Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...

 region of southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It was the seat of the bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s of Grumentum

Grumentum

Grumentum was an ancient town in the centre of Lucania, in what is now the comune of Grumento Nova, c. 50 km south of Potenza by the direct road through Anxia, and 80 km by the Via Herculia, at the point of divergence of a road eastward to Heraclea.-History:The first settlements, of the...

.

It is an agricultural centre in the Agri river

Agri River

The Agri is a 136 km long river in southern Italy. It flows through the region of Basilicata and into the Ionian Sea, near Policoro. In ancient times it was known as Aciris ....

 valley.

History

The city's origins are obscure, but, after the destruction by the Saracens of the ancient Grumentum, the town grew in importance, and became the seat of a county under the Normans (11th century). Its most famous count was Sylvester of Marsico

Sylvester of Marsico

Sylvester , count of Marsico, was a Norman nobleman of the Kingdom of Sicily.Second son of Godfrey of Ragusa, second eldest son of Roger I of Sicily, he was not a young man when he first rose to importance in the realm. He immediately seized all the property of the Admiral Maio of Bari in Palermo...

.

It was subsequently ruled by the Hauteville

Hauteville

-Places in France:* Hauteville, a former commune in the Ain département, part of Hauteville-Lompnes*Hauteville, Aisne, in the Aisne département*Hauteville, Ardennes, in the Ardennes département*Hauteville, Marne, in the Marne département...

, the Guarna and Sanseverino

Sanseverino

Sanseverino is a surname, and may refer to:* Roscemanno Sanseverino, 12th century cardinal* Ferdinando Sanseverino , prince of Salerno and Italian condottiero* Gaetano Sanseverino , Italian theologian...

 families. The last count from the latter, Ferrante Sanseverino, was exiled in 1552 and his fiefs acquired by the Kingdom of Naples.